The College of Engineering Student Stories

Meet Isaiah

There is a company in San Diego called Psyonic that makes robotic prosthetic hands. They are also one of the few companies that accepts Medicaid. I want to build a company like that someday.

When I think of people who are limbless, whether they were born that way or lost limbs in the military or at work, when you ask them about their lives, sometimes they feel less than human and no one should ever feel that way. I have family who have lost limbs, so I want to be a ray of hope to people who need it and help them feel 100%.

I’m a first-generation college student and the oldest in my family, so there are a lot of eyes on me. I transferred to UTA last January after I realized that I wanted to make robotic prosthetics. UTA was a good choice because it is cost-effective and close to my home, and I know lots of alumni who have nothing but good things to say about the university. I really like the diversity on campus, too – I’m a social butterfly and I feel isolated if I’m not around a lot of different people.

My favorite professor has been Dr. Young-Tae Kim. I took his Intro to Bioengineering class and had no idea what I was doing. He invited me to an industry seminar and it was amazing from an academic standpoint and because I could connect with people in industry. After that, I started doing research with him and he introduced me to the National Institutes of Health. My first project didn’t work out, but I’m working on my second one and I’m going to present it at Innovation Day.

I recently started a 3D printing business. I started with small, Christmas-themed keychains, and then I started taking orders for other things, like a jewelry box. It’s growing slowly, but I’m hoping to be accepted to MavMarket, where student entrepreneurs can sell their goods, and use that as a springboard to really get off the ground.

UTA is the place for me, because if you have a goal and want to do everything you can to achieve it, there is support here to make it happen.